HOLLYWOOD—Netflix’s original television anthology series “Easy” returned December 1 to the streaming program for its second season.
Much like the first, the second season is composed of eight half-hour episodes that are only loosely connected via the characters – the series lacks a running plotline, instead relying on snippets of its characters’ lives to tell the larger story.
The story, in this case, being that modern life is –quite in contrast to the show’s title- often complex, confused, and complicated. This is true when it comes to the realms of love and family (the two topics in which the program most commonly deals).
As watchers of season one know, the show combines lowkey charm with an all-star cast. Marc Maron, Dave Franco, Orlando Bloom, and Aubrey Plaza have all made appearances throughout both seasons, with a host of relatively more underground celebrities (Hannibal Burress, Judy Greer, and more) filling accompanying roles. Much like season one, however, it is rare for any character to play a central role outside of any one episode, though occasionally familiar faces appear in the background or as a passenger of an Uber.
Highlights of the second season include “Conjugality,” in which a debaucherously writer (played by Marc Maron) attempts to reconnect with his ex-wife, even as he simultaneously relapses a graphic novel chronicling the affairs that led to their separation. “Side Hustle,” a chapter detailing the parallel lives of a stand-up comedian and a feminist escort-is another standout.
Though “Easy” may lack the continuity of a typical primetime program, the self-contained plotlines of each of its episodes lends them an easily digestible appeal. When the beginning, middle, and end of a storyline are all confined to a single episode, it makes for easy, accessible viewing. What also helps make “Easy” such a, well, easy watch is its most common premises: the banality and confusion of love and life in the 21st century – something most people can relate too effortlessly.
